


Septicaemia

by emetoandotherthings



Category: Original Work
Genre: Blood Poisoning, Emetophilia, M/M, Original Character(s), Originally Posted on Tumblr, Sickfic, Vomiting, cut mention, emeto, puke
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-08
Updated: 2020-05-08
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:20:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,370
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24081205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emetoandotherthings/pseuds/emetoandotherthings
Summary: Prompt: Snowed InWarning: Includes blood mention and vomiting
Relationships: Blake/Aiden
Kudos: 18





	Septicaemia

Aiden could feel his ears. They were so cold that the tips were beginning to sting and he cursed himself for forgetting his hat. He’d considered doubling back into the hospital to retrieve it from his locker, but after a twelve hour shift he really couldn’t face it.

The snow crunched under foot as he trudged back towards his flat, hoping that Blake would have put the heating up. He was so tired that his limbs were aching.

It had started snowing again, thick white flakes fluttering down from the sky to join the several inches already on the ground. It had been causing havoc all day – most of the people Aiden had treated had been somehow victim to a different aspect of the snow. As he walked in the cold he could feel his heart pounding in his chest, but put that down to his exhaustion and longing for his bed.

As he pushed open the door to his flat a wave of warmth washed over him and he stood for a few seconds as the heat stung at his ears and nose. He ripped off his gloves and shoved them into his pocket, flexing his fingers to force the blood flow into them, but suddenly noticed that his right hand was much warmer, but just as red as his left one.

“Hi?” Aiden called, then heard footsteps as he yanked his shoes off. Blake’s door pulled open and his head appeared.

“Hey! How was your shift?” Blake asked, letting his bedroom door swing shut behind him.

“Long…” Aiden answered, shrugging off his jacket, but his fingers were stiff as he tried to hang it up. “Seriously we get a couple of inches of snow and everything grinds to a halt!”

“I know, don’t get Jack started on it, he’s been moaning cause people keep phoning him up and asking him to drive them places,” Blake agreed. “There’s more snow forecast tonight – it looks like it might get pretty bad…”

“I’m glad I’m not working tomorrow then!” Aiden yawned, stretching his arms above his head. “Man, I’m beat…”

“I didn’t know if you’d be hungry, but I made some soup if you’d like some?” Blake offered.

“Oooh…” Aiden put his hand to his stomach, he couldn’t remember what time he’d actually gotten his break tonight and the thought of crawling into bed with a warm full belly sounded amazing. “That would be awesome – what kind of soup?”

“Tomato and bacon,” Blake said, a small smile spreading across his face.

“That sounds amazing,” Aiden nodded enthusiastically.

“Go and sit down and relax while I heat it up,” Blake headed towards the kitchen. “Do you want tea or coffee with it?”

“Oh a cup of tea would be great!” He replied, dropping his bag on the floor before heading into their living space. He sank down into the sofa, closing his eyes as he rested his head back against the cushions. He was so exhausted, and his hands were throbbing but he was pretty sure that was half down to all the intricate work he’d done and half because he was still defrosting from being outside.

He must have nodded off, because the next thing he knew Blake was tapping his knee and his head jerked up.

“ Hmmmm?” Aiden rubbed his eyes, and sat up. “Oh sorry…”

“I didn’t know whether to wake you up,” Blake had set down the tray in front of Aiden and sat on the other sofa, “you looked so peaceful… But I think you’ll sleep better once you’ve eaten something.”

“You’re totally right,” Aiden grinned across at Blake, “you’re too good to me.” Blake turned a bit pink.

“You’re the one who’s working,” Blake mumbled, but he couldn’t hide the smile. Aiden had moved forward on his seat, picking up the spoon from the tray and tucking into the bowl of soup.

“Mmm… this is really good Blake!” Aiden took another spoonful. “Where’s Jack?”

“Out with Lindsey, he wanted to get away from all the driving requests,” Blake said.

“I hope they don’t get stuck in the snow!” Aiden joked, he could feel a hot flush creeping up his neck and face.

“Nah, he’s got that big land rover, they’ll be fine,” Blake shrugged. Aiden had practically inhaled the soup in a matter of moments, and was drinking his tea, feeling warm and relaxed.

“That was amazing,” Aiden said as he placed the empty mug back onto the tray. “Thanks Blake.”

“It’s no problem,” Blake stood up from his sofa and picked up the tray. “I’ll put this in the dishwasher.”

Aiden leant back into the cushions again, he unbuttoned the top button of his uniform shirt and closed his eyes as he fanned his face with his hand. He felt a sting on his right arm, then suddenly felt too hot and woozy. Moving his legs so they were rested on the arm of the sofa and lay back, still fanning himself with his hand.

“You should go to bed rather than lying there,” Blake came back into the room, but Aiden didn’t move.

“I know…” Aiden murmured, “Is it just me, or is it hot in here?”

“It’s not overly warm…” Blake replied.

“I must just be over tired,” he said, but his neck and face were slick with sweat and he felt shaky in his limbs.

Ignoring what Blake had told him he placed his arm over his eyes to block out the light and decided to have a nap right where he was. Even with his eyes closed and resting, he couldn’t get to sleep – even though he was exhausted; his stomach felt like it was rocking back and forth inside him and he was breathing in through his nose and out through his mouth to try and quell his nausea.

“Aiden?” It took longer than it should have for Aiden to realise that Blake was talking to him. “Aiden?”

“Mmhmm?” Aiden grunted, not really wanting to move his head very much.

“Are you alright?” Blake asked, his voice was suddenly much closer; Aiden tried to move his arm away from his eyes, screwing his eyes up against the light. As soon as he opened his eyes the woozy sensation made his head spin, and he swallowed a wave of nausea back. The pain and throbbing in his right arm had extended right the way up to his elbow.

“I don’t feel so great,” Aiden admitted, and his voice was weak. Blake pressed the back of his hand against Aiden’s cheek, then put his palm on his forehead.

“You’re roasting Aiden!” Blake exclaimed, and he fumbled to unbutton another button of Aiden’s uniform. “What’s wrong?” Aiden could feel warmth rushing from his head down to his toes, and he realised he was trembling.

“ _Urrgh…”_ Aiden moaned, he was trying to regulate his breathing as his stomach was making odd flipping movements inside him. “Feel – _hmmmk –_ sick.” Aiden couldn’t stop the gag rolling up his chest and his hand shot up to his mouth. “ _Hmmrrrff!”_

“Right – ah – okay, uh…” Blake sounded panicked, then he scrambled to empty the bin and bring it over to the side of the sofa as Aiden attempted to push himself up, but crumpled back letting out a cry as a sharp pain shot up his arm. He clutched his arm, breathing shallowly, and another heave jolted in his chest. “Here,” Blake held the bin at the edge of the sofa, and with his other hand helped Aiden roll so he was leaning over the edge.

“Oh god…” Aiden groaned raggedly, allowing a trickle of saliva to drip from his lips; he could feel a burning in his chest and knew he was going to be sick imminently. “Gonna – _hic-kuuuuuuh!”_

Aiden hadn’t even made it halfway through the sentence before a heave caught him and a spurt of liquid rushed up his throat, splattering noisily into the bin. He suddenly felt like he was drenched in a cold sweat, as he took a gasp in before another wave of puke gurgled up and joined the growing mass in the bin. His stomach felt like it was being squeezed tighter and tighter, and Blake was rubbing his shoulder as he retched again and brought up another round of vomit. He felt weaker and weaker with every retch, but they continued for a prolonged period after he stopped bringing anything up. When he collapsed back onto the sofa, panting, he was utterly exhausted; he rested his hand on his stomach. Something was really wrong – he knew that from how atrocious he felt.

“How can I help Aiden?” Blake asked, he’d grabbed a tissue and was gently wiping the residue of sick from around his mouth. “Tell me what to do…”

“Can you – get me some water?” Aiden struggled to say. “Then get my first aid kit from my room?”

“Water, and first aid kit,” Blake repeated, Aiden nodded minutely and closed his eyes as he heard Blake rushing away. In the brief silence Aiden was sure he could hear his heart racing inside his chest. “Here,” Blake had brought him a bottle of water, which made it easier for him to take a sip without spilling water all over himself – although right now he wouldn’t say no to being doused in cold liquid. “What do I do now?”

“Right, listen to me,” Aiden tried to sound once again. “I cut my arm at work today,” he closed his eyes, keeping them open was way too much effort. “I think something must be in it… You’re gonna roll up my sleeve and take a picture of it.”

“I – uh – right…” Aiden could feel Blake’s fingers trembling as he began to roll up his sleeve; he heard Blake gasp and he forced his eyes open. The cut on his arm was raised, the skin around it an angry red, and the edges of the cut were looking a whitish yellow. The sight of it turned Aiden’s stomach again, he squeeze his eyes tight shut, trying to avoid gagging. “Okay, what next?”

“In my first aid kit,” Aiden spoke through gritted teeth, “there’s some antiseptic wipes, I’m going to talk you through cleaning my cut.”

“Oh Aiden, I don’t think I can do this… Shouldn’t I just phone for help?” Blake sounded terrified, but Aiden shook his head with difficulty.

“I’ll talk you through it – step by step,” Aiden answered weakly, “I promise, you’ll be fine if you listen.”

“Okay, what do I do?” Blake had steeled himself, waiting for Aiden’s instructions.

“With an antiseptic wipe you’re going to clean my cut,” Aiden explained, trying hard to fight against the slur in his voice. “Starting at the centre of the cut, wipe outwards, so you’re removing any dirt from it.” He heard the rip of the wipe being opened, then he felt Blake’s hand gently on his arm. He couldn’t stop himself letting out a sharp hiss when the wipe touched his cut, stinging mercilessly.

“Ah sorry! Sorry, have I done something wrong?” Blake asked, panicked.

“No – it’s okay,” Aiden breathed, although his head was swirling. “Just stings, but that’s good. Keep going.” Blake was gentle as he followed Aiden’s directions, but Aiden couldn’t stop the rushing sounds in his ears and the way he felt weak all over.

“No, no, it’s my – my best friend! He’s a student nurse but he’s really not well…” With the buzzing in his head he realised he was listening to Blake talking very quickly and worriedly. “He’s got a cut that’s all red and raised, he’s got a temperature too, and he’s vomited a lot.”

“What’s going on?” The words took a lot of effort, and everything felt like it was happening in slow motion.

“Oh wait! He’s just come round!” Blake was talking to someone on the phone, but as Aiden opened his eyes he felt Blake touch his cheek gently. “Aiden? You fainted… how do you feel?”

“Awful…” Aiden couldn’t recall a time when he’d felt so ill.

“It’s okay, I’m getting help,” Blake grabbed the hand of his uninjured arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “What do you mean it could be an hour?” Aiden closed his eyes. “Surely the ambulances are equipped for the snow? No, don’t worry – I’ll get him there myself!” Blake sounded scared and angry.

“What…?” It was all Aiden could muster himself to say.

“The ambulances are taking longer cause of the snow, but we need to get you to hospital!” Blake said. “Don’t worry – I’m phoning Jack!”

Aiden couldn’t remember being carried bodily by Jack and Blake down to Jack’s car, equipped with winter tyres so he had no problem driving. He couldn’t remember how Blake cradled his head, protecting his airways, or that he’d thrown up again while in the back of the car but Jack was too concerned to complain about his car interior. Aiden couldn’t remember being wheeled into the emergency department, or being assessed so quickly that his friends knew it was serious. He didn’t know that Blake didn’t leave his side for fourteen hours while antibiotics were pumped into him.

“Oh god…” Aiden came to consciousness slowly, the dull ache in his arm still present, and his whole body felt like he’d been flattened by a steamroller. His mouth tasted awful.

“Aiden?” Blake’s voice came from beside him; Aiden opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital bed. “Oh god you scared me Aiden!” Blake clasped Aiden’s face, then planted a kiss on the top of his head.

“What happened?” Aiden asked, feeling confused.

“You’ve been really ill,” Blake said, stroking the side of Aiden’s face. “Your cut was infected – it caused septicaemia…”

“Oh…” Aiden really hadn’t expected it to be that bad. “I guess I was wrong… Maybe you should be the one training to be a nurse!”

“Thanks, but I think I’ll leave it to you,” Blake laughed, “I’ll stick to music!”

“Fair enough,” Aiden agreed, Blake looked relieved, “but thank you, for looking after me.”

“Don’t thank me!” Blake shook his head. “Just promise that you’re never going to scare me like that again!”

“I promise,” Aiden stretched out his hand to grab Blake’s and squeezed it tight. 


End file.
